Storage-reservoir for explosive fluids.



C. J. COLEMAN. STORAGE RESERVOIR FOR EXPLOSIVE FLUIDS. APPLIGATION FILED JULY12,1907.

y1,080,263. Patented Dec. 2,1913.

cLYnn J. COLEMAN, or NEW Yonx,

Vn. Y., Assrcnon. 'ro coNnAn Yonx, N. Y., t

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stromen-nnsnvom Fon. nxrnosrvn moins.

Spcci'catlon of Letters Patent. Patented DBC. 2, 1913A'.

Application md my 12, 1907. serial no. 383,413.

To all lwh'om. t may concern.' l

Be it known that I, CLYDE J. COLEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, in the county of New York .and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Storage-Reservoirs for Explosive Fluids, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to safety storage means for explosive fluids for instance, acetylene gas, and has for'lts objects simplicity of construction and increased safety under various conditions, and also has as an object increased eiiiciency of operation in charging the storage means and in drawing off the uid for use.

It is well known in the art that the storage of certain fluids, as for example, acetylene gas, in a condensed, compressed or liquid form is 'attended by extreme danger of explosion from slight predisposing causes, unless precautions are taken to provide certain safety conditions. For example, it is lmown that acetylene can be dissolved in acetone and stored in solution with safety u to a certain relative quantity. It is also own that acetylene and similar highly explosive iuids maybe safely conserved in non-explosive condition when concentrated iu a porous,

cellular or interstitial mass of solid material, providing the pores, cells or interstitial spaces are not of greater dimensions than a certain critical magnitude which is the' limit of to explosion for a given degree of'concentration or. relative quantity of iiuid stored.

My present invention'includes improved means' for utilizing both of these safety conditions in a lsingle storage' device.

My invention also includes a storage reser'voir having a filler composed of 'solid' granules of substantially uniform size so'as to produce interstitial spaces ofa predeter- My invention also vin Indes improved means to facilitate ready ingryess and egress of Huid to and from the sto age means and to permit free escape of the gases in case-of My invention also includes certain details of construction which will appear from the following description.

The4 embodimentiof my invention shownv in the accompanying drawings will now be described, after which I will point outl my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a storage reservoir for explosive fluids. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing in central longitudinal section a portion of the perforated central tube seen in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 shows a face view and 1ongitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, of one of the granules or beads forming the fluid absorbing filler. Fig. 5 shows two imlar views of' a modiiied form of filler ea In the construction shown a reservoir or container is provided comprising a metallic shell l1 filled with a great number of minute granules or beads 12. The beads 12 are all of the same size and preferably perforaed as shown. These beads are com posed of some absorbent solid, such for .exi ample, as baked porous light pipe-clay. The beads are impregnated with or allowed to absorb a fluid-absorbing or fluid-dissolving liquid, for instance, acetone in limited quantities. The acetone in turn absorbs the acetylene, or other explosive Huid to be conserved. The quantity of acetone is limited or restricted so that after it has been charged with the explosive fluid in solution there will still be no free liquid in the interstices be@ v stitial space and also present a total larger absorptive surface both for the absorption `of theexplosive fluid by the absorbed acetone and for giving up the explosive uid' with readiness. The beadsY are first tight'll compacted in the reservoir and are then st' 'more closely compressed by inserting 'and screwing in place a valve-plug.. v12 carrying a pointed and tapering foraminous or per- -forated communicating tube 14 which is eme' bedded among the ller beads. The tube 14 ".5

extends substantially the full length of the reservoir and has perforations of. sli 'tly` smaller diameter than thel diameterb V the beads 12, as may beseen in Figs.' 3, land 5', the enlargementsbeinglto the samefscale.- As the' are all of the same size the magnitudes of the interstitial spaces between themI are substantially uniform and are predetermined by the size of beads selected, andthe beads are also preferably of the same shape so as to give greater uniformity to the interstitial spaces. This gives a maximum of the explosive fluid.

or passa interstitial storage capacity, free acetylene beingalso stored in the interstitial spaces in addition to that stored in solution in the acetone. Also the magnitudes of the interstitial spaces may be exactly determined to correspond to the amount or relative quantity of acetyleneit is desired to store in the interstices and so as to always bc of nonexplosive magnitude for the quantity of explosive uid thus stored. For example, if the beads shown in thel drawing were about one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter the in terstices between them and the Huid held in solution by the acetone absorbed by them. would permit of the condensed storing of aboutone hundred and twenty-five volumes at about live hundred pounds pressure at an ordinary warm temperature.

It is evident that my invention provides double storage in the same reservoir, one portion of explosive duid bein held in solution by the acetone which as been absorbed by the material of the beads 'and another portion of explosive Huid being contained in the interstltial spaces between the beads and within the perforations of the beads, such spaces being of predetermined non-explosive magnitudes.

In m invention the fluid absorptive material acetone) is divided into small aglomerations or segregated portions of preetermined size which store the greater part The interstitial spaces form intercommunicating passages, of non-ex losive magnitudes, which serve not only or the stora e of explosive lluid in a less concentrated germ but also constitute passages for the ready entrance and exit 'of the explosive fluid stored by the acetone.

The explosive iuid absorbed bythe acetone is heldin a-much more concentrated state than that contained in the interstitial spaces for example, at from one hun'- dred an twenty-.tive to one hundred and fifty volumes concentration as against about shown, and inwardly from the valve is provided with a safety-vent or counter-passage controlled by a safety device shown as a usual bursting-disk. Above the valve is'"'a service-nipple having a passage communieating with the servlee passage, such nipple being provided with a connector ring as shown for attachment to a service 'conduit 15,-a portion'oiwhich is shown.

The modified beads illustrated in Fig. 5 could be employed with substantially equal advantages as compared with those shown in Fig. 5; in fact the two forms could be mixed together in the samecontainer without any bad results, the principal requirement being tlat the beads shall be of substantially un1- I form predetermined sizes so as to predetermined uniform size of interstitial spaces. 1

It is to be noted thatvthe communicatin tube 14 extends substantially throughout the full length of the container, and therefore a short path is provided from any part of the contained filler for the explosive uid either in the charging operation or in drawing olf the fluid for use. There is thus no practical impedance tothe free flow of explosive iiuid either to or from the reservoir. Another highly important flmction of the tube 1,3 is thattin case of re it provides a safety exit for blowing olf the gas from any point in the container.

The ller beads instead of being formed of a dry absorbent material, such asbaked pipe-clay, as described, may be made of a gelatinlzed acetone compound composed, for

example, of clay, a small percentage' of silicate of soda, acetone, and a little elatin; or they may be made of a powder o -cocoanutshell charcoal, kaolin or pumice stone or the like with acetone and gelatin. In this arrangement the acetone exists in the form of a jelly as an ilgredient of the material of the beads instea o being taken up and'held by capillarity, as in the lirst described-arrangement. When the filler beads are formed of wdered cocoanut-shell charcoal, that material, by reason of its gas-occluding or inherent fluid absorptive and concentrative influence, will act similarly to and in Y conjunction with the acetone to safely conserve' in a non-explosive condition large additional quantities of acetylene over that which is stored merely by compression in the interstitial spaces between the beads.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the construction shown and above particularly described within the principle and scope of my invention.

1. In means for safely storing explosive liuids, the combination of a reservolr and a filler therefor, the filler comprising closely .compacted granules of uniform s1ze and forming fluid-containing interstis of subfiller therefor, the ller'com and fluid stantially uniform size and of non-explosive magnitudes.

2. Means for safelyl storing explosive fluids, comprising an elongated substantially cylindrical reservoir, a filler therefor comprising closely compacted granules of uniform size and forming fluid-containing interstices of substantially uniform size 'and of non-explosive magnitudes, and 'a 'perforated communicating-tube having perforations of smaller'diame'ter than tli'e. granules and extending substantially throughout the length of the reservoir.

3. In means for safely storing explosive fluids, the combination of a reservoir, a rising closely compacted granules of .uni orm size and forming fluid-containing 'interstices of substantially uniform size and of non-explosive magnitudes, and a perforated communicatinmtube embedded among thegranules aving perfor-ations of smaller diameter than the granules.

4f. In means for safely s, the combination filler for the reservoir comprising closely compacted porous granules of uniform size and forming fluid-containing interstices of substantially uniform' size and of non-'explosive magnitudes, and a {luid-absorbing liquid contained entirely in the pores of the granules, leaving the interstices free from storing explosive of a reservoir, a

such liquid.

5. In means for safely storing explosive fluids, the combination of a reservoir and a filler therefor, the filler comprising closely" compacted granules 'ofuniform lsize and form' g stantially uniform size and magnitudes, the anules. being composed of material having `lliiid-absorptive and {luid-concentrative influence on the explosive fluid.` l

6. In means for safely storing explosive fluids, the combination of a reservoir and a filler therefor, the filler comprising closely compacted granules containing charcoal of cocoanut-shell and of uniform size 'and forming fluid-containing interstices of substantially -uniform size and of non-explosive magnitudes. i

7. In means for safely storing explosive fluids, thecombination of fluid-containing in terstices 'of subof non-explosive a reservoir and a filler therefor, the lilla-comprising closely compacted perforated size and forming fluid-containing interstices of predetermined size and of iion-explosive magnitudes, the granules being composed of material having fluid-absorptive and {luid-concentrative influence on the exi' plosive fluid. y

8. In means for safely storing explosive iluids, the combination of a reservoir and a iller therefor, the filler comprising closely compacted perforated granules containing charcoal of cocoanut-shell and of uniform Y fluid-containing interstices of predetermined size and of nonexplosive magnitudes. A

9.l In means for safely storing explosive fluids, the combination of a reservoir, a filler for` the reservoir comprising closely compacted porous granules -of uni and forming fluid-containing interstices of substantially uniform sizeI and of non-ex plosive magnitudes, the granules being composed of a substance having luid-absorptive and fluid-concentrative influence on the explosive luid, anda fluid-absorbing liquid contained entirely in the pores of the granules'leaving the interstioes free 4from such liquid.

size and forming anules of uniform' 10. In means for safely storing explosive fluids, the combination of a reservoir, a filler for the reservoir comprising closely compacted porous granules containing charcoal of cocoanut-shell and of uniform size of nonfexplosive magnitudes, and a fluid-absorbing .and forming fluid-containing interstices of substantially uniform size and liquid ':oiitained entirelyin the pores'o'f the I granules vleaving theY interstices free from such liquid. 11. In means for safely storingV explosive fluids, the combination ofa reservoir and a lillei"A therefor, the filler comprising closely compacted granules containing chai*- coal of cocoanut-shell 'and of uniform size and .shape and forming Huid-containing -interstices of non-explosive magnitudes.

In tes'i'sinfiony whereof I have ailixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN. Witnesses WM. ASHLEY KELLY, ALBERT V. T. DAY. 

